Readings in Reincarnation

Articles and Cases on Past Lives and Past Life Regression

Below is a list of articles, cases, and other materials useful to anyone interested in learning more about past life regression therapy, children's past lives, or in exploring related topics of reincarnation.

Some of this material was originally written for the book,Children's Past Lives, by Carol Bowman, but ended up on the cutting room floor, so to speak. Some is background material that contributed to the ideas in the book.

Some--the articles by Dr. Ian Stevenson, for example--go to the source of objective proof for reincarnation.

Past life regression therapy is new, relative to other therapeutic areas. It's not easy to find the academic foundation for what has become a most valuable addition to the healing arts. We offer here an introductory compendium of practical ideas, method, theory and intellectual discussion.

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Regression Therapy and Adult Past Life Memories

Dr. Roger Woolger: Past Life Therapy, Trauma Release and the Body. A very long article that goes deep into the theory underlying past life therapy. Only Dr. Woolger, with his encyclopedic knowledge of psychology, history, and alternative healing, could have written such an article.

Cases of Children's Past Life Memories

Sweet Swarnlata A Case from Dr. Ian Stevenson that shows what incredible detail some children remember from their past lives.

Enthroning a Child The story of the Dalai Lama is possibly the most famous example of children's past life memory. Here is the true story of how the present Dalai Lama was located and positively identified based on his ability, as a very young child, to remember details from his past life.

Titu, A Case of Double Birthmarks An amazing case of a child who remembered the details of his own murder, and had double birthmarks that corresponded to the fatal wounds.

Dr. Ian Stevenson

Note: A special Stevenson page introduces the work of this great man and why his empirical research is so important to the acceptance of reincarnation in the West.

Here are some articles and interviews to study and ponder (the list is repeated on the Stevenson page):

Past Life Sleuth: How Dr. Stevenson Investigates Cases. An excerpt from Children's Past Lives that describes how incredibly thorough Dr. Stevenson is when he collects and screens data for his cases. If you're new to the work of Dr. Stevenson, this is a good place to start.

Some of My Journeys in Medicine (Part I). A fascinating lecture in which Dr. Stevenson explains how his dissatisfaction with conventional medicine and psychoanalysis led him to his work. This lecture is a revelation of the breadth and depth of Dr. Stevenson's ideas and erudition, and the logic that led him to challenge some of the basic presumptions of Western medicine. It's long, so we split it into two parts. Part 2 is here: Journeys in Medicine, Part II

Birthmarks and Birth Defects Corresponding to Wounds on Deceased PersonsDr. Stevenson's research into the correspondence between birthmarks and past-life wounds is perhaps the most unexpected, shocking part of his work. His last and largest single work (more than 2200 pages) focuses on this physical manifestation of reincarnation. Fortunately he summarized his conclulsions in this relatively readable article. It was first published by Dr. Stevenson in the Journal of Scientific Exploration in 1993.

Sweet Swarnlata. A summary of one of Dr. Steven's better cases. It shows what incredible detail some children remember from their past lives. We included an even shorter form in Children's Past Lives. Thanks to a friend of the Forum, Carlos Plaza Vegas, we can offer the same case translated into Spanish: Dulce Swarnlata.

Titu, A Case of Double Birthmarks An amazing case of a child who remembered the details of his own murder, and had double birthmarks that corresponded to the fatal wounds.

The Case of Shanti Devi, one of the best-documented cases of children's past life memories--even Gandhi got involved. This case actually pre-dates Stevenson's work in India, but he did do a follow-up investigation. This summary article was written by Dr. K.S. Rawat.

Other Articles

Authorship of the Bible A long article by Jim Blanston that combats the argument that "reincarnation isn't true because it's not in the Bible."

Dogma Bites Man An excerpt from Children's Past Lives that outlines the history of reincarnation in the early Church.

Review of Children's Past Livesby Winafred Lucas, PhD. in the American Board of Hypnotherapy Journal. Dr. Lucas, a pioneer in the field of past life therapy, discusses the book's importance to professionals in the field.